On Being a Critical Friend (And Not A Hater)
Yes, Really.
“9 out of what?!” I yelled out in the middle of a spoken word competition after I vehemently disagreed with both the poets and audience who sought it fit to give a tawdry poem about city life high marks. That was two years ago, and I thought I got rid of the hater bug by then, but I obviously didn’t. I wasn’t offering any constructive feedback, but felt the urge to sting the innocuous audience for the compliance with this insult to my time, money, and poetic senses. We elitists take our poetry far too seriously.
All joking aside, this little episode offered me a lens into what I believe about criticism and the functions of